RealCold Plans New Jersey Cold Storage Near Port of Newark
The 380,000-square-foot site will reach 97% of U.S. consumers in two days or less.
Construction of RealCold East Hanover is scheduled to be completed in late 2025 with operations commencing in early 2026. This aerial view shows construction progress as of August, 2024. Courtesy RealCold.
RealCold, an operator and provider of cold chain services for the food sector (including brands, grocers, and the food service industry), is growing its national network with the addition of 380,000 square feet of temperature-controlled warehousing space in East Hanover, New Jersey, less than 30 minutes from the Port of Newark.
The New Jersey location represents the company’s third new-build facility in the last twelve months, expanding upon its five existing operational facilities. Upon completion of RealCold’s projects currently under construction, the company will have nearly 1.6 million square feet of space, making its footprint a top-10 network in the refrigerated warehouse sector. In addition to the East Hanover location, RealCold is currently developing a 386,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland, Florida and a 312,000 square foot facility in Lockhart, Texas.
“Prior to East Hanover, RealCold already had a robust and far-reaching network, but expanding to the Northeast was always part of our roadmap. The completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone in our strategy of entering high consumption markets, and more importantly fulfills a need voiced by our current and potential customers,” said Keith Goldsmith, CEO. Additionally, this facility will provide a critical hub for omnichannel fulfillment as it increases RealCold’s reach, allowing us to get our customers’ products in the hands of 97% of U.S. consumers in two days or less as part of our powerful DTC program.”
Situated on 62 acres, RealCold East Hanover will comprise a 50-foot clear, fully-convertible, Class A, LEED Silver warehouse that will include environmentally controlled rooms ranging from -20 degrees Fahrenheit to +55 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility will also include over 40 dock doors to accommodate high volume of inbound and outbound loading, and dedicated areas for value-added services. The campus, High Point on 10, will provide accessibility for RealCold to service the tri-state area’s cold chain needs, including frozen and refrigerated goods coming into/out of the New Jersey and New York ports. In addition, the facility will be integral to the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering, allowing it to reach 60 million people and 100 million people on a next-day and two-day parcel service, respectively. Capital for the property was provided by Related Fund Management, RealCold’s sponsor, as well as its partners Onyx Equities and Russo Development who acquired the site in 2021 from Novartis.
Construction of RealCold East Hanover is scheduled to be completed in late 2025 with operations commencing in early 2026.
About RealCold
Established in 2022, RealCold was founded to address the unmet needs of the food cold chain sector. By combining high-growth strategic locations, state-of-the-art Class A facilities, and exhaustive offerings that include traditional storage programs and diverse value-added services (including DTC), the company has positioned itself as a collaborative and integrated provider for food retailers, producers, and distributors. This mission is reinforced through its highly bespoke solutioning and customer-centric approach. The RealCold platform operates a national, omni-channel network, inclusive of a comprehensive direct-to-consumer program, which can reach the majority of U.S. consumers within 1- or 2-day ground service.
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